Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

अथ भूमितलं भित्त्वा प्रादुर्भूता महानदी । तां शिलाममलैस्तोयैः क्षालयन्ती समंततः

Transliteration

atha bhūmitalaṃ bhittvā prādurbhūtā mahānadī | tāṃ śilāmamalaistoyaiḥ kṣālayantī samaṃtataḥ

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ഭൂമിതലം ഭേദിച്ച് മഹാനദി പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു; മലിനതയറ്റ ജലങ്ങളാൽ ആ ശിലയെ എല്ലാടവും കഴുകിത്തുടങ്ങി।

Word by Word

• अथ: then, now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (sequence/now-then)

• भूमितलम्: the surface of the earth
• भूमितलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूमेः तलम्)

• भित्त्वा: having split/pierced
• भित्त्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having done)

• प्रादुर्भूता: appeared, manifested
• प्रादुर्भूता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रादुस् (अव्यय) + भू (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘appeared’

• महानदी: the great river
• महानदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महती नदी)

• ताम्: that (her/it)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• शिलाम्: stone, rock
• शिलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अमलैः: pure, spotless
• अमलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; विशेषण (तोयैः)

• तोयैः: with waters
• तोयैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन

• क्षालयन्ती: washing, cleansing
• क्षालयन्ती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षल् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘washing’

• समन्ततः: on all sides, all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण-अर्थे)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-विशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator, likely Sūta) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-prādurbhāva tīrtha (Brahma-śilā-sannidhi)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer (typical Nāgara-khaṇḍa interlocutor frame; exact names not in provided verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A great river bursts upward by splitting the earth; crystalline waters swirl around a central sacred rock, washing it on all sides; devas witness the emergence.

Characters & Entities

• Mahānadī (Great River)
• Śilā
• Sarasvatī (implied by prior verse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine purity is established through sacred waters; cleansing signifies the consecration of the kṣetra and readiness for worship and pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha-system of Camatkārapura-kṣetra, where the great river manifests to sanctify the foundational śilā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied tīrtha-practice: purification through sacred water (snāna/cleansing), as the river’s pure waters consecrate the site.